Dedication and Long Life Prayers The Dedication of Merit sönam di yi tamché zikpa nyi Through this merit, may all beings attain the omniscient state of enlightenment, tob né nyepé dra nam pamjé shing And conquer the enemy of faults and delusion, kyé ga na chi balong trukpa yi May they all be liberated from this ocean of saṃsāra sipé tso lé drowa drolwar shok And from its pounding waves of birth, old age, sickness and death! Dedication from ‘Samantabhadra’s Aspiration to Good Actions’ jampal pawö jitar khyenpa dang Just as the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī attained omniscience kuntuzangpö deyang deshyin té And Samantabhadra too, dedak kün gyi jesu dak lob ching All these merits now I dedicate gewa didak tamché rabtu ngo To train and follow in their footsteps! Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 227 dü sum shekpé gyalwa tamché kyi As all the victorious buddhas of past, present and future ngowa gangla chok tu ngakpa dé Praise dedication as supreme, dak gi gewé tsawa di kün kyang So now I too dedicate all these sources of merit of mine, zangpo chö chir rabtu ngowar gyi For all beings to perfect ‘Good Actions’.27 Vajrayāna Dedication kunzang dorjé chang chen menché né From the Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra drinchen tsawé lama yenché kyi Down through the lineage to my own gracious root master, drowé döndu mönlam gang tabpa Whatever their prayers and aspirations for the benefit of beings, dedak tamché dak gi drubpar shok May I be the one to accomplish them single-handedly, here and now! 27 These two famous verses come from Samantabhadra’s Aspiration to Good Actions—the King of Aspiration Prayers, the Ārya Bhadracarya Praṇidhāna Rāja, which is the final part of the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the last section of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. 228 - Dedication and Long Life Prayers The Secret Vajra Knot: An Aspiration Prayer of the Three Yogas by Minling Terchen Rigdzin Gyurmé Dorjé lama yidam lhatsok gong su sol Lamas and hosts of yidam deities, turn your attention towards us! deng dir tsönpé drubpé gewa dang These positive actions we have accomplished through our efforts today, dü sum sak dang yöpé gewa nam All the merit we accumulate throughout the three times and all the virtue that exists, dom té lamé changchub chenpor ngo All gathered together, we now dedicate towards great and unsurpassed awakening! deng né changchub nyingpor chi kyi bar From now until we reach the heart of enlightenment, rik zang losal ngagyal mepa dang May we be born in a good family, be intelligent and free from pride, nyingjé ché shying lama la gü den May we have great compassion, and devotion to the teacher, palden dorjé tek la ngé né shok And confidently follow the glorious Vajra Vehicle! Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 229 wang gi min ching damtsik dompar den Matured through empowerment and keeping the commitments of samaya, rim nyi lam la nyendrub tarchin té On the path of the two stages28 may we complete ‘approach’ and ‘accomplishment’, kawa mepar rigdzin gopang drö May we attain the vidyādhara levels29 without difficulty, ngödrub nam nyi delak drub gyur chik And easily achieve the two types of accomplishment! chir nang gyutrul drawé khorlor dzok May all appearances be realized as perfect, the mandala of the Net of Magical Illusion, drakpa tamché jödral ngak kyi dra All sounds as the inexpressible sound of mantra, 28 This could refer to the generation and completion phases, or to the conceptual phase of yogic practices related to the subtle channels, inner air and essences and the non-conceptual phase of the actual nature of clear light. It could also refer to the two stages of Dzogchen practice, tögal, the stage with appearances, and trekchö, the stage without appearances. See Lagla Sönam Chödrup, Collected Works, volume 3, page 366. 29 The four levels of a vidyādhara are: fully matured vidyādhara, vidyādhara with power over life, mahāmudrā vidyādhara and spontaneously accomplished vidyādhara. According to Lagla Sönam Chödrup the first two correspond to the path of seeing, the third to the path of meditation and the fourth to the path of no-more- learning. 230 - Dedication and Long Life Prayers sem kyi gyuwa rangrig dümajé All movement of mind as uncompounded self-knowing awareness, dechen dudral mepar ngöngyur shok And may we realize the great bliss that is beyond union and separation! nyamchak tok drib mapang né su dak Without rejecting impairments and breakages, thoughts and obscurations, may they be purified in their own state. chi nang sangwa yermé tokpé kang Through realizing outer, inner and secret to be inseparable, may the samaya commitments be fulfilled. gangshar rangdrol kunzang long yang su May whatever arises in the mind be liberated by itself in the vast expanse of Kuntuzangpo, ngensong dongtruk sishyi nyam gyur chik May the lower realms be emptied from their depths, and may we realize the equality of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa! tiklé chenpor ku dang shyingkham dzok Within the Great Sphere the kāyas and buddha fields are perfectly complete, damtsik chenpor panglang tsenma dak Within the Great Samaya the concepts of abandoning and adopting are purified, Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 231 khyabdal chenpor redok düpa drol Within the Great All-Pervasiveness the knot of hope and fear is loosed, dzogpachenpor chöku ngöngyur shok Within the Great Perfection may we actualize the dharmakāya! gyüpa sum gyi jinlab nying la shyuk May the blessings of the three lineages30 enter our hearts, gyutrul drawé lam sang sem la dzok And the secret path of the Net of Magical Illusion be perfected in our minds. trinlé nam shyi lhün gyi drubpa yi Through the spontaneous accomplishment of the four activities, muta mepé drowa drolwar shok May we liberate the infinity of beings! shyitro trulpé khorlö lung tön shying May the mandalas of peaceful and wrathful emanations guide us with predictions, khandro nam kyi bu shyin kyongwa dang The ḍākinīs protect us as their own child, chökyong sungmé barché kün sal né And the Dharma protectors and guardians dispel all obstacles; yi la mönpa tadak drub gyur chik May all our aspirations be fulfilled! 30 The three lineages (Tib. gyü sum) are: the mind transmission of the buddhas, the sign transmission of the vidyādharas, and the oral transmission of realized beings. 232 - Dedication and Long Life Prayers gyalwé tenpa dar shying gyepa dang May the teachings of the buddhas flourish and spread far and wide, tendzin nam kyi shyepé dön kün drub May the aspirations of all the holders of the teachings be fulfilled, malü kyegü galkyen kün shyi shying May each and every being be freed from all adversity, püntsok tadak yishyin jor gyur chik And may they receive all that is excellent just as they desire! By Rigdzin Gyurmé Dorjé. Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 233 Long Life Prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama gangri rawé korwé shyingkham su In the heavenly realm of Tibet, surrounded by a chain of snow mountains, pen dang dewa malü jungwé né The source of all happiness and help for beings chenrezik wang tendzin gyatso yi Is Tenzin Gyatso—Chenrezik in person— shyabpé kal gyé bardu ten gyur chik May his life be secure for hundreds of kalpas! 234 - Dedication and Long Life Prayers Prayer to Protect the Teachings mönlam lokpé gyalwé tenpa la May all those negative influences that harm the teaching of the Victorious Ones through their perverted aspirations— khuwé nakchok zukchen zukmé dé Those with form and those without form— samjor ngenpé jukpa malüpa All those who work with malicious intentions, chok sum denpé tsené chö gyur chik Be annihilated through the truth of the Three Jewels! This verse of prayer, spoken in a vision, invokes the power of truth of the Three Jewels, and is supreme as a means of naturally and effectively pacifying the thoughts and actions of those malevolent forces, both human and non-human, who seek to harm the Dharma teachings and Tibetan society. It is therefore of the utmost importance that it be recited sincerely each day after the dedication of merit in all non-sectarian monasteries and public assemblies, as well as in private. Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 235 Long Life Prayer for Kyabjé Sakya Trizin ngawang gyutrul lha rik khön gyi dung Lord of Speech, magical emanation of the noble Khön family, dro kün gadzé tekchen do ngak lam You bring happiness to all beings through the sūtra and tantra paths of the great vehicle, pendé pal du barwé trinlé chen Your enlightened activity brings tremendous benefit and happiness, sampel wang gi gyalpo shyabten sol Wish-granting king of power, may your life be secure and long! Long Life Prayer for Kyabjé Dodrupchen Rinpoche lumé kyabné gyatsö jin tu yi Through the power of the ocean-like, unfailing sources of refuge, jikmé tubten trinlé palbar gyi May Jikmé Tubten Trinlé Palbar’s shyabpé mishik kal gyar rabten né Lotus feet remain indestructible and stable for hundreds of aeons, lab chen ten drö shyedön tarchin shok And may he accomplish his vast purpose for the teaching and for sentient beings! 236 - Dedication and Long Life Prayers Long Life Prayer for Dzogchen Rinpoche by Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche lumé kyabné gyatsö tu jin gyi Through the power of the ocean-like, unfailing sources of refuge pema rigdzin gyalwé nyugu chok Supreme son of the buddhas, Padma Rigdzin, jikmé losal drubpé wangpo yi Lord of siddhas, who has realized the fearless clarity of mind, Jikmé Losal Wangpo: shyabpé takten dzetrin dargyé shok May your life be secure and firm, and may your activity radiate in all directions! Dedication and Long Life Prayers - 237 Prayer for the Tradition of the Dzogchen Rinpoches and their Teachings